Thursday, April 18, 2019

Six In The Morning Thursday 18 April 2019

Democrats outraged as Trump team shapes Mueller report rollout

Updated 0507 GMT (1307 HKT) April 18, 2019


America has been waiting two years to hear from Robert Mueller.
But President Donald Trump and his team are not taking any chances, making sure that they get to spin the special counsel's conclusions before the nation gets to see them for itself.
An aggressive administration rollout plan for the release of a redacted version of Mueller's final report Thursday is sparking accusations of blatant political interference. The choreography is bolstering accusations that Trump's team is tipping the scales of justice over a report into the President's behavior before and after an election that a hostile foreign power, Russia, sought to help him win.

Kim Jong-un oversees first weapons test since failed US-North Korea summit

Regime’s leader says test of tactical guided weapon would increase the ‘combat power’ of the country

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the testing of a new type of tactical guided weapon on Wednesday, state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Thursday.
It is North Korea’s first public weapons test since the second US-North Korea summit in Hanoi ended with no agreement in February.
KCNA did not describe exactly what the weapon is, including whether it was a missile or another type of weapon, but “tactical” implies a short-range weapon, as opposed to the long-range ballistic missiles that have been seen as a threat to the United States.

'Decades of denial': major report finds New Zealand's environment is in serious trouble

Nation known for its natural beauty is under pressure with extinctions, polluted rivers and blighted lakes

A report on the state of New Zealand’s environment has painted a bleak picture of catastrophic biodiversity loss, polluted waterways and the destructive rise of the dairy industry and urban sprawl.
Environment Aotearoa is the first major environmental report in four years, and was compiled using data from Statistics New Zealand and the environment ministry.
It presents a sobering summary of a country that is starkly different from the pristine landscape promoted in the “Pure New Zealand” marketing campaign that lures millions of tourists every year.

Iranian female boxer to stay in France over arrest fears


An Iranian woman, who became the country's first female boxer to win an international fight, intends to stay in France, her spokesperson said Wednesday, adding an arrest warrant had been issued against her in Iran.
Sadaf Khadem and her trainer Mahyar Monshipour are currently in the French city of Poitiers, the spokesperson, who asked not to be named, said.
Khadem, 24, had been due to return to Tehran, where she works as a fitness trainer, following her victory Saturday over 25-year-old Anne Chauvin of France in the western town of Royan.
Monshipour, who has double French and Iranian nationality, had been due to make a tour of Iran and give boxing classes.

Global press freedom under threat, says Reporters Without Borders

Across Europe and much of the world journalists are facing increased hostility, but progress in Africa is a sign for hope. That's according to the latest World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders.
For the first time in three years, North Korea evaded the wooden spoon: The country is no longer ranked last in Reporters Without Borders' annual World Press Freedom Index published Thursday. Instead, it is Turkmenistan that has captured the bottom spot in 2019.
Once again, Norway tops the global ranking, followed by Finland and Sweden.
The Netherlands dropped out of the top three, and in the opinion of Sylvie Ahrens-Urbanek from the German branch of Reporters Without Borders, this demotion is proof that there are press shortcomings even among countries often touted as exemplary democracies.

TEPCO to employ foreign workers at Fukushima plant under new visa system


The operator of the disaster-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant plans to allow foreigners to work at the complex through a new visa program that started earlier this month to address Japan's acute labor shortage, company officials said Thursday.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc (TEPCO) has told dozens of its subcontractors that foreigners coming to Japan under the recently adopted scheme may engage in the work of decommissioning the plant.
Foreigners may also take up building cleaning roles and work in the provision of food services, the company said.


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